Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Has $2.87 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,652 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,933 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 40,554 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $9,390,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of American Express by 9.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 329,361 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $76,262,000 after acquiring an additional 29,046 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,654 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,220,422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $282,589,000 after buying an additional 23,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $312.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.26 and a 200-day moving average of $271.98. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $315.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.